Friday, November 27, 2009

In and out of season

One of the greatest obstacles Christians face is when they do not recognize the season they are in. If it is a spiritual winter do not expect the fruits of the summer harvest. Do not be anxious or concerned when there fruit is not appearing, don't commit to this and that to try to make it happen, or try to force the fruit to bear, because it just CANNOT BE FORCED. No matter how hard you try, you won't produce fruit until the right season and until the conditions aresuitable for you to flourish.
It is God who produces the climate and the orchestrates the seasons, we have not the power to command immediacy of fruit or the right to for that matter. But what is worse is that we play the blame game and point the finger AT GOD for the lack of fruit!
How many times have you heard (or caught yourself) whinging and complaining to the effect of "BUT I did everything right and this and that and me and me and I and I .....BUT God did not come through."
Oh Please!!!! Really........... this is your your faith ? God does not fail; we fail, and regardless He loves us.
We fail to to recognize what the seasons are we are in, and we fail to work with God through those seasons. REMEMBER a time for this.....and a time for that ....SEASONS.
It not about what we do or say or pray or give or don't do or say or pray or give , and its not about what we think we are sacrificing either..........
IT is about what He is doing in our life, His plan, His purpose, so lighten up a bit, Take it easy let God be God and you just be who he made you to be.
When you are in a pruning season , be pruned, in a blossoming season, just blossom, in a season where you are dormant, rest a while refresh revive, and in the fruiting season,be the best plumpest juciest possible fruit around. Seize the day people. I dont know much about fruit trees and flowers and vegies and the like, and my thumb is not green so to say, but this I do know.............Just like the natural seasons and the preparation of the ground and planting and harvestings, we as the kids God loves and is always looking out for, go through spiritual seasons and plantings and harvestings and OUCH prunings too. . In Spring we can be aware and observant and se ethe leading of God into new adventures into new opportunities. A season of preparation and the planting if you will .... a season to enrich and airate the soil....Sound good to me . In Summer we need to take the time for learning and development and plumping up our fruits, maturing if you like is a good analogy. During Autumn we may be feeling a need to return to the basics of our relationship or maybe its a new level of commitment to new fresh things or revisited disciplines; or a time for reflection and out with the old things Maybe its the time for seeking and prayer and planning, which in themselves seem to the naked eye to produce little fruit but are in essence the fertiliser spurring on and norishing the fruit to come . Lastly, there is winter - AHHH .......Winter is it not the most uncomfortable time for many of us...... Yeah and Christians too. In our society we tend to value people based on how much they produce. This "work equals value" culture is not godly and it is wrong to commend such people who are over committed as much as it is wrong to judge those who are under committed, or complacent or blind or this or that....you get what I mean. God does not, in the first instance value your works. FIRSTLY HE values YOU.... and we should adopt this too, to value first the person not the status of the position or the suburb or things or the works. Spiritual winter is like a lot of sundays. Reating Realxing Soaking in the Rain......Warming yourself and turning your face to God. He instructed people to keep thier rest special and to Him..... To spend time reflecting on the things of God, to be thankful for all things, for His son for this life for who not what you are . TO PRAISE HIM. As you work through the seasons speading and shaking out His God Salt (you are the salt of the Earth) and go about promoting His Kingdom come and His will be done, remember to work, or rest, to restore and refresh, to be in the season and make the most of what He is giving you in that season and according to the season you are in. This will be the underlying development of the best fruit in your life and that will result in you being so ready for the harvest. So when you think season, think of where you are at, Where are you in the seasons cycles right now, what season is growing you now......? Gal 5:22 Msg But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. ............ Colossians 1:5 Msg The Message is as true among you today as when you first heard it. It doesn't diminish or weaken over time. It's the same all over the world. The Message bears fruit and gets larger and stronger, just as it has in you. See you next time Glenda

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